On this day in Vancouver history, June 10, 1972, the Girl in a Wetsuit statue was revealed just off the north shore of Stanley Park. She was commissioned by Douglas Brown, a local lawyer, who approached sculptor Elek Imredy in 1968. He wanted the statute to be based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid that sits in the water in Copenhagen. I wrote more about our Girl in a Wetsuit’s history in 2008.
Copenhagen:
Copenhagen’s Little Mermaid. Photo credit: hoangnt on Flickr
Over the years our Girl out there in the water has been the subject of many photos, a resting place for animals and birds, and sometimes she’s been dressed up to support the local sports team.
One of this summer’s superhero blockbusters, Green Lantern, starring Vancouverite Ryan Reynolds, is hitting theatres next week and our city is joining in on a series of worldwide premiere events.
On Monday, June 13th, there will be a night projection of the Green Lantern logo somewhere in the downtown core at 9:00pm (safely after the Canucks game). The first 17 people to find it will win double passes to the Vancouver premiere (two days before the global release) and everyone else who finds it will have a chance to win other prizes from Warner Brothers Canada.
They haven’t said where the projection will be but they have been releasing clues every day, which I am able to post.
June 6: During the Olympics streets near this building were closed for the celebrations of superheroes clad in red & white.
June 7: Everyday it overlooks the most artistic building in Vancouver.
June 8: One of its neighbors is a vault for priceless works of art.
June 9: If shopping is your superpower, you can utilize it at this building.
June 10: Masked with secrecy this building has no windows.
June 11: One of its neighbors has never lost to its archenemy: high clothing prices.
June 12: If villains needed money to fund their evil plans they would target its neighbour recognized by its green logo.
June 13: The Sears Building Vancouver 701 Granville Street
I will be sharing the daily clues as I receive them up until Monday. You can also enter to win a double pass for the Vancouver premiere from me. Here’s how:
Leave a comment with the one superpower you wish you could have (1 entry)
Post the following on Twitter (1 entry)
I entered to win premiere passes to #GreenLantern from @WBPicturesCan & @Miss604 http://ow.ly/5edgz
I will draw one winner on Monday, June 13th after the night projection event. Green Lantern opens in theatres nationwide in 3D and 2D on Friday, June 17, 2011.
I’m always fascinated by people who have gained a great deal of mastery in one creative discipline and then dare to venture into another—only to become hugely successful in that field as well. Such is the case and story of Vancouver director Rob Leickner.
Photo credit: Michelle Kim who met up with Rob at Gene Cafe on Main
You see, Rob is a music guy. In the mid 1990’s, Rob and two of his friends started The Hive—an independent recording studio in Vancouver. What began in someone’s basement later evolved into a 3,000-square-foot industrial complex. Since its inception, the studio has recorded some of the most recognized names in independent music including Destroyer, Gigi, Ten Kens, The Cave Singers, and Black Mountain.
Now his first foray into the film industry happened by chance, really, when his friend Terry Miles (whose band, Ashley Park, he recorded at the studio) asked him to play the role of a mute director in a film he was making on a shoe-string budget. It was suppose to be just one-day shoot for Rob, but ended up being more. But Rob didn’t care, he was having fun working with his friends on what seemed to be a good film.
But the film wasn’t just good—it was great. When Life Was Good premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2008 to rave reviews and all the accolade took everyone who worked on the film on a bit of a whirlwind. It was this experience that inspired Rob to make something of his own.
“It got me thinking,” he says. “I didn’t just want to be a bystander. I wanted to make my own film.”
Now Rob didn’t have a lot of experience in the film industry, other than being a huge fan of films—in particular Korean and Chinese ones (in fact, it was his love for Korean cinema that inspired him to move to Korean and teach English for a year). So he decided to shoot what he knew.
The result was Rob’s first feature film, Everything Louder Than Everything Else, about a recording studio and all the characters that come through it, which premiered at the Whistler International Film Festival last December. I actually saw it in Whistler and I’m not going to lie—I was pretty surprised that I loved it. Here was this guy who had never shot anything before, completing an excellent first feature film.
Photo credit: Michael Milardo for Lost Lagoon
In the same vain of his first feature (of shooting what you know), Rob is tapping into his experiences of living in Korea, being a long-distance runner, and, of course, working in the music industry to make his next feature film, Lost Lagoon, currently in pre-production and slated to shoot later this summer.
Lost Lagoon tells the story of Mi-Ran (Diana Bang)—a long-distance runner who moves to from Seoul to Vancouver under the guise of studying English but really comes to listen good music and run through some beautiful trails. But when Vancouver doesn’t turn out to be quite what she expected and when her beautiful older sister comes to visit, Mi-Ran finds that she is just as isolated in Vancouver as she was in Seoul. What ensues is a process of self-discovery.
Photo credit: Michael Milardo for Lost Lagoon
Why the title Lost Lagoon?
“Because Vancouver’s Lost Lagoon was once part of the ocean but now it’s separated,” he says. “I like the idea of this isolated body of water being a metaphor for this young woman.
Rob is currently trying to raise funds for Lost Lagoon through Kickstarter—an online funding platform that allows people to donate to create projects in development. You can donate anything (from as low as a five dollars )and there are incentives to donate more (my favourite incentive is the opportunity to go on a 10km run with Rob!)
To get more information , to see some preliminary footage, and to see how you can support the film, visit the project online and follow on Twitter.
Photo credit: Michael Milardo for Lost Lagoon
What is cool about the site is that Rob posts Mi-Ran’s running playlists (pointing you to some very cool music) and he even gives you running tips! I plan to download some of the music and run through Stanley Park… maybe even around Lost Lagoon.
This feature was written exclusively for Miss604 by actor, writer, and producer, Michelle Kim. Read all posts contributed by Michelle for Miss604.com and follow her on Twitter @miju.
The highlight of my summers growing up would be that one week I’d spend over at camp on the Sunshine Coast. It was just seven days out of ninety but the experience will be with me always. While there are still full-on summer camp adventures available throughout the province, the next best thing (close to home) is a day camp program.
I saw a tweet this morning from @TroutLakeCC about their day camp programs so it has inspired me to put together the following list:
Trout Lake Community Centre
Find adventure at the Summer Daze Day Camp
Our staff lead your kids through a summer filled with Ninja’s, Pirates, Messy Monsters, Mysteries,Superheroes, Holidays, and the Jungle. Join us for the summer! Role models and fun will be provided. Website
Toodle around at the Preschool Day Camp
Campers come join our Camp Leader in fun games, learning about the outdoors, exciting crafts, and journey’s to the park! Website
False Creek Community Centre
Preschool Explorers AM Summer Daycamp (ages 3-5)
Junior Explorers Summer Daycamp (ages 6-10)
Waterworld Adventures Summer (ages 10-12)
Youth Leadership Explorers (ages 12-15) Website
Kitsilano Community Centre
Kicks for Kids (ages 6-12) Website
The people of Vancouver can have their say when it comes to the Plaza of Nations through a series of Open Houses this month. The memorable performance area from Expo 86 has been stuck in development limbo over the last few years and the future of the whole North East False Creek (NEFC) are is currently being discussed.
The High Level Review will identify policies, plans and strategies regarding the future land use, built form, urban structure, infrastructure requirements and public amenities for NEFC. The review will seek to clarify the future role of the area within the downtown, noting it is currently the location of transit-oriented citywide entertainment, sport and cultural activities. More specifically, the High Level Review will have the following objectives:
to identify a preferred land use mix and development capacity for the Northeast False Creek (NEFC) area;
to identify the location, function and role of the streets and identify the location of pedestrian/bike routes, including the waterfront walkway;
to identify major open spaces and gathering places;
to prepare a basic massing for the development sites, noting potential tower locations and heights, and podium requirements; and
to develop a public benefit strategy, after the preferred land use and structure plan has been developed
The NEFC area consists of the Cambie bridgehead/Concord Pacific site, the Plaza of Nations, the other Concord Pacific site near the viaduct, the Rogers Arena site, and BC Place stadium. The Open Houses will serve to inform the public about the latest proposal and spark discussions.
I spoke with Devon Kuiper who is a member of the False Creek Residents’ Association about the plans for NEFC. “One thing that’s great with these two developers [Canadian Metropolitan Properties and Aquilini Investment Group] is that they’ve been really pro-active with the community.” He said they’ve been coming out to their monthly meetings, asking for input, being transparent, and making sure they can meet the community’s needs. A concern is also the area between Science World and the areas that’s laid vacant save for a few festivals, Cirque du Soleil tents, and Olympic pavilions. “A park was supposed to be supplied which hasn’t happened yet. There’s design for a beach, a wharf… it’s a big lingering plan,” Kuiper added.
Part of the proposal from Canadian Metropolitan Properties and Aquilini Investment Group over the Plaza of Nations site includes a 40,000 square foot public gathering place by the water, apartment buildings, and removal of the casino. Kuiper says it will completely change the look of downtown and “the designs are amazing”.
Open houses (where you can view the designs) will take place at the following times and locations:
Thursday, June 9, 2011, 6:30 to 9:00pm, site walking tour 7:30pm
Saturday, June 11, 2011, 2:00pm to 4:30pm, site walking tour 3:00pm
Meeting Room B, Roundhouse Community Centre in Yaletown (181 Roundhouse Mews)
